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Fire at Marriott Hotel in Tampa forces evacuations

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TAMPA, Fla. — A fire forced guest and staff to evacuate a Tampa hotel.

Tampa Fire Rescue responded to a fire at the Marriott Hotel located at 3805 W. Cypress Street on Thursday night.

Westbound Cypress from Dale Mabry Highway was closed due to the fire, but reopened shortly after.

The fire started around 9:15 p.m. Firefighters said a flight attendant who was staying at the hotel started the heater/AC unit and it sparked. She immediately called 911 about the fire.

"My husband and I were in there. We were watching TV and heard some commotion. I opened up the door and a lady was running down the call, everybody out!" said Yvonne Wesley Payne, a hotel guest.

Firefighters said the third floor had water and smoke damage. The sprinkler system worked. Firefighters believe the cause of the fire was electrical/mechanical malfunction of the room heater.

No one was hurt.